Roger Carr, who is to stand down as chairman of Cadbury following the recent takeover by Kraft Foods, gave a Distinguished Speaker Seminar at Saïd Business School on 9 February on the subject of hostile bids and takeovers.
Carr delivered his verdict on an event that he said had enraged a portion of the British public, ignited politicians, distressed employees, amply rewarded shareholders and perhaps highlighted some pitfalls of the system and the rules under which directors and Boards discharge their corporate responsibilities. Carr described himself as a committed free marketer who had no quarrel with the Anglo American way but suggested that something had happened to the system to tip the playing field towards short termism. The popular myth of Cadbury, Carr said, was as an old fashioned, family business run by chocolatiers with Quaker principles. Despite this, Cadbury had become a global business whose success owed more to acquisition, demergers and disposals in the last ten years than the evolutionary developments of the previous 150...
